


Valentine's Prompts

by Shinyunderwater



Series: Tumblr Prompts [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-02 03:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17879855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinyunderwater/pseuds/Shinyunderwater
Summary: These ficlets were all written in response to Valentine's Day prompts. Each is a date for the prompted couple.





	1. Jack/Ianto

“You actually wore a tux,” Ianto said with a fair degree of surprise as he opened his door to find Jack standing there with about a dozen red roses. Ianto raised an eyebrow at the cinematic scene. “I don't suppose those came with a vase,” he asked.

“You don't own a vase,” Jack teased.

“Do YOU own a vase,” Ianto retorted.

“Buy me some flowers and I'll get a vase to put them in,” Jack parried.

Ianto couldn't help but smile as she took the flowers and went into his kitchen to find something to put them in. “You never did tell me where we're going,” he said while taking down a seldom (never) used pitcher and filling it with water. “I'm getting the impression it's somewhere nice.”

“Were you expecting me to take you somewhere that isn't nice,” Jack asked, leaning forward onto the kitchen island while Ianto measured and trimmed stems.

“I never know with you.”

“Name one place I took you to that wasn't nice.”

Ianto placed the flowers in the pitcher and then turned around to face Jack. “The-”

“Not work related,” Jack amended.

“I was going to say that Italian place down by the water,” Ianto said. “The whole area smells like fish guts and there were bugs scuttling around on the floor when we got inside.”

“That wasn't my fault,” Jack protested. “The last time you went there it was one of the most exclusive restaurants in Cardiff.”

“When was that, the nineties?”

“The eighties, look the point is,” Jack said as Ianto rolled his eyes. “This place is the genuine article. I scoped it out in advance.”

“Right,” Ianto said as he started for the door.

He was stopped when Jack took hold of his elbow and pulled him into a kiss. “Have a little faith in me,” Jack said in a teasing tone.

“I always have faith in you,” Ianto replied with a lot more seriousness because sometimes he thought Jack needed to be reminded of how good he was at inspiring belief in others, of how easy it was to love him. Ianto had no idea how Jack could ever forget, but he seemed to quite often. “I just think your taste in fine dining is utter rubbish,” he said, taking the tone back to light-hearted and jovial.

Jack grinned. It was a carefree, happy grin, but there was something serious behinds his eyes. “You Ianto Jones will be eating your words before this night is over,” Jack said as he held the door open for him.

“Among other things I hope,” Ianto retorted.

“You have a dirty mind,” Jack said in this most approving voice.

“I was talking about the food,” Ianto said with a look that made it clear he wasn't.

“C'mon. It's been a while since I did anything fun for this holiday. Let's paint the town red.”

“Nobody says that anymore,” Ianto said as he locked up the flat.

“I do,” Jack said as he took hold of his arm and pulled him along the hall. “I like it.”

Ianto shook his head and smiled. Jack Harkness did what Jack Harkness wanted, and Ianto wasn't foolish enough to argue the point. Besides, he liked it too.


	2. Martha/Donna

"Donna! You're never going to believe this! They have these fish on this planet that alter their pigmentation depending on their exposure to UV radiation, and the schools naturally sort themselves into rainbows when- why are you dressed like that?"

Donna rolled her eyes. She looked down at her black cocktail dress as if she too were just now noticing her outfit and hadn't spent the last three hours perfecting her hair and makeup. "Martha and I are going on a date," she answered. "I'm taking her out to dinner."

"Oh." The Doctor looked somewhat disappointed. "So you don't want to see the rainbow fish with me?”

Donna held out a hand on either side of her body with her palms upward, imitating a scale. “Hmmm, date with a beautiful woman,” she said as she raised one hand. “Or smelly fish,” she said switching to the other hand. “Beautiful woman, stinky fish, beautiful woman, fish, tough call. I THINK I might have to go with the beautiful woman. I've got the fish as backup though.”

“They don't smell,” the Doctor protested on behalf of the fish. “Well not overly.”

“Sorry Doc, but you're competing with that,” Donna nodded towards something behind the Doctor, and be spun around. Martha was approaching them in a crimson cocktail dress, her hair in an elaborate updo with two golden needles sticking out of it. She and Donna looked almost like inversions of each other. Donna stepped around the Doctor and kissed Martha on the cheek. “You look lovely darling.”

“Thank you, as do you.” Martha glanced at the Doctor. “Will you be alright without us for the evening,” she asked.

“Me? Oh yes, I've got my… fish.”

Donna rolled her eyes. “We'll see you later, or tomorrow, whenever we see you.” Without waiting to see what his response would be Donna intertwined her arm with Martha's and the two of them set off. The planet they were on was over ninety percent oceanic, and as they walked along the stony path the couple could see spires of coral shooting up out of the water.

“I feel sort of bad leavings him on his own,” Martha said.

“You worry too much about other people,” Donna replied. “You have to do something kind to yourself every now and again. Of course that's me assuming that you actually want to go on this date with me and don't just consider it an act of chari-”

Martha stopped, which forced Donna to stop, and the shorter woman stood on her tiptoes to plant a deep kiss on Donna's lips. It was a long passionate kiss, and Donna never wanted it to end, but they had to come up for air at some point. When the kiss broke Donna looked into Martha's twinkling eyes. “Did that feel like charity,” Martha asked.

“Only if you're very generous,” Donna whispered.

Martha sighed. “I wish you could see yourself through my eyes, see how very special you are to me, how amazing you are.”

“Well of course I'm amazing,” Donna said. “That was never up for debate.”

“And you don't need to don't that either, to talk yourself up because you're afraid people will look down on you. I'll never look down on you Donna I lo-” Martha's eyes widened as she realized what she'd been about to say. She blushed and looked away.

Donna felt a warm lightness spreading through her. “What was that last part,” she teased.

Martha cleared her throat. “I was just going to say- What I meant was- You- Well I…”

Donna couldn't bear to watch her squirm for a second longer. She reached out and lifted up Martha's chin with two fingers. Donna leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against her lips. “Martha Jones I love you too.”

Martha grinned. “Donna Noble I do love you.”

Donna looked out at the sea and the coral towers. “How long do you think it took for that coral to grow that tall,” she asked.

Martha leaned her head against Donna's chest as she eyed the tower. “Dunno, thousands of years,” she guessed.

“That's how long I'm going to love you,” Donna said. “Until our love has grown for as long as that coral.” She closed her eyes and inhaled the salty ocean spray.

“You've the soul of a poet,” Martha said.

“Yeah. Don't tell the Doctor, he'll only poke fun.”


	3. Nine/Jack

Jack watched the Doctor's face as Rose and Mickey ran off into the market, not so much as glancing back at either of them. It was difficult to read the Doctor sometimes, but Jack was almost certain he could decipher that expression. It was longing, Jack knew it well. “So,” Jack said as he tried to shift the Doctor's attention. “This is what you consider to be the most romantic planet in the universe?”

“What, you don't like it?”

Jack looked at the rainbow sky, the tall glass spires of the city, the many different species journeying to and from the spaceport and the gorgeous giant butterflies that drifted in the low gravity atmosphere. “I think it's wonderful,” Jack said.

The Doctor smiled at him. “You don't have to stay with me. Rose and Mickey have gone off to have their fun, and I'm sure it wouldn't take you long to find a date. Go see the great crystalline history museum or the aquatic buffet. There's plenty to do.”

“That all sounds great.”

“Well go on then.” If Jack hadn't known the Doctor as well as he did Jack would have missed the sadness floating in his eyes.

“One condition.”

“Oh you're giving me conditions now are you?”

“Yep.” Jack made sure to pop the p in yep and to wear his most playful grin.

The Doctor crossed his arms. “Well go on then. I must hear this.”

“I'll go do all those things if you come with me,” Jack said. “Be my valentine Doctor?”

The Doctor was taken aback and Jack savored the moment of managing to surprise the Time Lord for once. “You want me to go on a date with you?”

“Well I don't usually ask people out when I don't want them to go on a date with me. It sends mixed signals I think.”

The Doctor opened his mouth and then closed it. He seemed to be searching for a response and drawing a blank. Jack savored another rare moment. “I haven't been on a date in a very long time,” the Doctor said at last. “Well not officially.”

“That's the great thing about dates Doctor. They aren't official. They're quite the opposite actually. The whole point is to relax and get to know someone you might be interested in.”

The Doctor appraised Jack. “What makes you so sure I'm interested in you?”

Jack shrugged. “Call it an intuition.”

“Hmmm…” The Doctor looked off into the distance. “There's no such thing as happily ever after with me Jack, there can't be.”

“Woah, woah, woah, pump the breaks hot stuff,” Jack said. “I asked for an evening, not years or weeks or even days. Besides, do I seem like a happily ever after sort of guy?”

The Doctor smirked as he turned to look at Jack again. “What happens tomorrow?”

“Never promised,” Jack retorted. “All we have is this second, and if we're lucky we get one more after that, but there's no guarantee. So I say, you're gorgeous and fascinating, I'm beautiful and a hell of a catch-”

“Don't forget modest,” the Doctor said.

“So let's go look at some pretty art and eat delicious food, because I'm alive right here and right now. So are you. So let's live.”

“Rage, rage against the dying of the light,” the Doctor whispered.

“Dylan Thomas,” Jack said.

The Doctor quirked an eyebrow.

“I'm not just attractive.”

“No,” the Doctor agreed. “There's a lot more to you than that. We'd better hurry. There's a lot to get done.”

“Yes sir,” Jack said. He tried not to make it obvious how giddy he was. He was pretty sure the Doctor knew though.


	4. Sally Sparrow/Billy Shipton

The hour was late and the shop was locked up, but Sally was loathe to return home to her empty apartment. She was thinking about him again, the man who had been a part of her life for such a short amount of time, but also for so very long. Billy had waited decades to give her that final message. She thought of him as he had been and should still be, young, charming and full of life. She wanted to see him again, but he had lived his full life in a matter of days. “Urgh!” Sally grabbed bunches of her hair and leaned forward. It hurt her head to think about.

As she sat up and wiped a stray tear from her cheek she heard a strange and yet familiar sound. She'd heard it just once before, but that once had been enough to brand the memory onto her mind forever. She spun around to see the TARDIS materializing into the shop. She gaped at the policy box, which of course wasn't in truth a police box, as it solidified. The door opened and the man and woman from the video walked out.

“Sally Sparrow,” said the Doctor with a big grin. “How are you? We just got our transport back and wanted to thank you for your part.”

Sally scoffed. “What about Billy? Did you thank him? You left him back there.”

The smile slipped off the Doctor's face. “I'm sorry Sally. We couldn't take him with us. He had to carry the message. Only someone who had been displaced in time would have believed what happened and agreed to help-”

Sally slammed her palms down on the counter. “I don't care! He was a good man! You should've helped him! Now he's dead!”

The woman took ginger steps forward and placed her hand on Sally's shoulder. “Billy meant a lot to you, didn't he,” she asked.

Sally wiped away a tear. “I didn't even know him really, but…”

“Sally, I am sorry,” the Doctor said.

“There must be something you can do,” Sally protested.

“Billy already died, here in this time. I can't undo that. It would create a paradox.”

Sally looked at the woman. She tried to remember if her name had been mentioned in the video. It came to her in a flash of inspiration. “Martha! That's you, right?”

Martha nodded.

“How would you feel if you were still trapped in 1969? Not with a friend either, all on your own?”

Martha gave her a sympathetic look. “I wouldn't like it at all,” she confessed.

The Doctor shot Martha a look of annoyance, but Sally plowed ahead. “If you can't bring Billy back to the present then take me to the past,” she insisted.

The Doctor looked startled. “What?”

“I won't let him be abandoned.”

“Sally,” Martha cautioned. “You'd be giving up your whole life-”

“Billy didn't get a say in whether or not he got to keep his life,” Sally argued.

“But you do,” the Doctor said. “Think about this. You'd never be able to come back.”

“I don't care. Take me to him.”

The Doctor and Martha shared a long look, but in the end they gave in. The Doctor allowed Sally to pack a few precious possessions and leave a note, and then they were off. The last time Sally had been in the TARDIS she had been in fear for her life and unable to appreciate its beauty. The second and last time she found herself marveling at its size and design. The trip took seconds, and then Sally was stepping outside the doors. “I'll give you fifteen minutes to talk to Billy, and then we're leaving. If you're going to change your mind you only have fifteen minutes to do so,” the Doctor warned.

Sally ignored him. She had no intention of changing her mind. She ran down the street, trusting the Doctor's navigation and her own instincts to lead her to Billy. A minute later she was standing in front of him. Her breath caught in her throat as he stared at her with wide eyes. “I'm supposed to give you a message,” he told her.

Sally grinned. “Not yet. You have to wait until the future. But don't worry too much. I already got it, so you’ll succeed.”

Billy laughed and shook his head. “Then what are you doing here Sally Sparrow? Why aren't you in the future where you belong?”

“I couldn't leave you behind.”

Billy walked forward with a slow purposeful stride and took her hand. “You came all this way just to see me again? I know that I am a handsome man, but-”

Sally gave him a playful shove. “Shut up.”

He smiled at her and she found herself laughing. He laughed with her, but soon his face became serious. “How long do we have?”

“Trying to get rid of me already?”

This time he didn't mirror her smile. “When do you need to go back home?”

“I'll let you know when I find one.”

“Sally-”

“I'm not leaving you Billy, and that's it. That's all I have to say on the matter.” She reclaimed her hand and crossed her arms over her chest. “I can't just abandon you.”

“This is a different time,” he warned her. “This is a worse time. We'll both suffer here more than we would have where we came from.”

“You can't go back,” Sally said. “So neither will I. The Doctor was cruel to leave you here, but I can't fix that. All I can do is keep you company on the slow path.”

Billy frowned. “You'll come to resent me.”

Sally stepped forward and kissed him. At first he stood still and just accepted the kiss, but then he took hold of her and began kissing her with vigor. When they broke for air both were panting. “Are you sure,” she asked.

“You win Sally Sparrow,” Billy said with a chuckle. “Come on. Let's go get some food to put in you skinny.”

She put her arm through his and they began to walk down the street. “Where are we going?”

“Everywhere,” he promised her. “Life is short and you are hot. We'll go everywhere and see everything. If that's what you want.”

She kissed his cheek. In the distance she heard the TARDIS dematerializing, but she didn't give it a second thought. “It is.”


End file.
